Generation of 3rd and 5th harmonics in a thin superconducting film by temperature oscillations and isothermal nonlinear current response

The generation of harmonics of the voltage response is considered when an AC current is applied through a superconducting film above T_c. It is shown that almost at all temperatures the mechanism of the temperature oscillations created by the AC current and the temperature dependence of the resistance dominates over the isothermal nonlinear electric conductivity. Only in a narrow critical region close to T_c the latter is essential for the generation of the harmonics. A detailed investigation of harmonics generation provides an accurate method for measuring the thermal boundary conductance between the film and the insulating substrate. The critical behaviour of the third harmonic will give a new method for the determination of the lifetime of metastable Cooper pairs above T_c. The comparison of the calculated fifth harmonics of the voltage with the experiment is proposed as an important test for the applicability of the employed theoretical models. Received 8 September 2001     

A microprocessor based autoscanner for electromigration studies in thin films

Mass transport due to electromigration can be estimated if the diffusion coefficientD and the electromigration effective charge numberZ* are known. Neutron activated tracer scanning method determine the radioactivity at different positions. An automatic scanning system for determining the radioactive concentration profiles developed using a microprocessor is described in this paper. Using the radioactive concentration profiles the electromigration shift is determined. From this shift the electromigration effective charge numberZ* is calculated. The system developed was tested for tin thin films.     

Pulsed laser deposition of nanostructured Ag films

Ultra-thin (0.5-5 nm) films of Ag have been prepared by pulsed laser deposition in vacuum using a 26 ns KrF excimer laser at 1 J cm⁻². The deposition was controlled using a Langmuir ion probe and a quartz crystal thickness monitor. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the films are not continuous, but are structured on nanometer size scales. Optical absorption spectra showed the expected surface plasmon resonance feature, which shifted to longer wavelength and increased in strength as the equivalent film thickness was increased. It is shown that Maxwell Garnett effective medium theory can be used to calculate the main features of optical absorption spectra.     

Property improvement of pulsed laser deposited boron carbide films by pulse shortening

Growth characteristics and surface morphology of boron carbide films fabricated by ablating a B₄C target in high vacuum with a traditional KrF excimer laser and a high brightness hybrid dye/excimer laser system emitting at the same wavelength while delivering 700 fs pulses are compared. The ultrashort pulse processing is highly effective. Energy densities between 0.25 and 2 J cm⁻² result in apparent growth rates ranging from 0.017 to 0.085 nm/pulse. Ablation with nanosecond pulses of one order of magnitude higher energy densities yields smaller growth rates, the figures increase from 0.002 to 0.016 nm/pulse within the 2-14.3 J cm⁻² fluence window. 2D thickness maps derived from variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry reveal that, when ablating with sub-ps pulses, the spot size rather than the energy density determines both the deposition rate and the angular distribution of film material. Pulse shortening leads to significant improvement in surface morphology, as well. While droplets with number densities ranging from 1 × 10⁴ to 7 × 10⁴ mm⁻² deteriorate the surface of the films deposited by the KrF excimer laser, sub-ps pulses produce practically droplet-free films. The absence of droplets has also a beneficial effect on the stoichiometry and homogeneity of the films fabricated by ultrashort pulses.     

Influence of oxidation time on semiconductive behaviour of thermally grown oxide films on AISI 304L

The oxide films formed on AISI 304L stainless steel at 300 °C in the oxidation time range between 2 and 4 h have been studied by photoelectrochemistry. Photocurrents were investigated as a function of the wavelength of the incident light and the electrode potential. The investigation allowed the determination of the semiconductive properties of the oxides. The oxide films showed n-type behaviour. A duplex structure of the oxide films has been suggested on the basis of the photocurrent spectra, with an internal oxide layer having an optical gap (E_g2 = 2.16-2.3 eV) depending on the applied potential and oxidation time, higher to that of the external oxide layer (E_g1 ≈ 1.9 eV). Significant variations in the amplitude of the photocurrent were detected as a function of the applied potential and the oxidation time.     

Spectroscopic and X-ray diffraction study of high Tc epitaxial YBCO thin films obtained by pulsed laser deposition

We report spectroscopic characterization of epitaxial YBCO thin films grown on LaAlO₃ by pulsed laser deposition. Raman spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry were used for film characterization and the results were correlated with X-ray diffraction measurements. The mentioned techniques allowed us to analyze crystallographic, micro-structural, and morphological properties of YBCO thin films. We also demonstrated that relatively low resolution Raman spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry are reliable techniques for a rapid and non-destructive characterization of epitaxial YBCO thin films.     

Polarization modification of PZT thin films by means of electric fields and stress in scanning force microscopy

Polarization switching in scanning force microscopy (SFM) is influenced by both electric fields and stress, whereby the latter can arise inherently from Maxwell stress. We discuss the influence of electric charges and of the polarization asymmetry on the switching behaviour. For single crystallites of PZT(53/47) thin films, the sectors for ferroelectric, ferroelastoelectric and ferroelastic switching are represented in a field-stress map. The influence of stress on the second harmonic of the SFM is also discussed.     

Second harmonic generation in In2O3–SiON films doped by Al and Sn

Photoinduced optical and second-order non-linear optical effects in the interfaces separating In₂O₃–SiON (O/N ratio equals 1) films doped with A1, Sn and glass substrates were investigated using the photoinduced optical second harmonic generation. The photoinduced effective second-order optical susceptibility d_eff (at λ=1.76 μm) shows a good correlation with the linear optical susceptibility, particularly with the shift of the absorption edge. The maximal response of the photoinduced optical response signal was observed for the pump–probe delaying time of 34 ps. The performed experimental measurements indicate that the observed effects are mainly caused by the interface potential gradients on the border glass–In₂O₃–SiON film and by additional polarization due to insertion of the Al and Sn atoms. The observed phenomenon may be proposed as a sensitive tool for investigation of thin semiconducting interfacial layers and simultaneously such films may be used as materials for non-linear optical devices.     

Effect of secondary electrons from latent tracks created in YBCO by swift heavy ion irradiation

Swift heavy ions (SHI) with electronic energy loss exceeding a value of 14.4 keVnm⁻¹ create amorphized latent tracks in YBCO type superconductors. In the low fluence regime of an ion beam where tracks do not overlap, a decrease of the superconducting transition temperature as probed through resistivity studies, is not expected due to availability of percolating current paths. The present study however shows T_c decrease by about 1–3 K in thin films of YBCO when irradiated by 250 MeVAg ions at 79 K at a fluence of 5×10¹⁰–1×10¹² ionscm⁻². The highest fluence used in the present study is three times less than the fluence where track overlapping becomes significant. The T_c tends to increase towards the preirradiation value on annealing the films at room temperature. To explain this unusual result, we consider the effect of ion irradiation in inducing materials modification not only through creation of amorphized latent tracks along the ion path, but also through creation of atomic disorder in the oxygen sublattice in the Cu–O chains of YBCO by the secondary electrons. These electrons are emitted radially from the tracks during the passage of the SHI. Considering the correlation between the charge state of copper and its oxygen coordination, we show in particular that the latter process is a consequence of the inelastic interaction of the SHI induced low-energy secondary electrons with the YBCO lattice, which result in chain oxygen disorder and T_c decrease.     

高气压反射式高能电子衍射仪监控脉冲激光外延氧化物薄膜

在超高真空分子束外延（MBE）生长技术中，反射式高能电子衍射仪（RHEED）能实时显示半导体和金属外延生长过程，给出薄膜表面结构和平整度的信息，成为MBE必备的原位表面分 析仪.为了研究氧化物薄膜如高温超导（YBa₂Cu₃O₇） 、铁电薄膜（Sr_1-xBa_x TiO₃）及它们的同质和异质外延结构的生长机理，获得高质量的符合各种应用 需要的氧化 物多层薄膜结构，在常规的制备氧化 关键词： 高温超导薄膜 RHEED